Search - Chic :: Live at the Budokan

Just Like a Diamond in the Rough !

Armando M. Mesa | Chandler, AZ | 11/12/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First, let's get the list of shortcomings out of the way from this performance. I was hoping for more of their hits and less interludes or tracks with interviews. Secondly, one of the reasons I purchased this performance was to hear the soulful vocals of ex-Prince protogee singer Jill Jones (hailed by music critics as the best female singer to come out of the Paisley one's camp);She is faint and lost in the backup somewhere. One embarrassing moment occurs when Jill Jones is introduced in track 14 of Chic Cheer and she ad libs/sings something that is a far cry of what she is really capable of doing ! Female lead vocalist Sylver Logan Sharp is right on the money but her vocals are too deep to be reminiscent of anything original singers Norma Jean and Alfa Anderson offered with the original lineup. Jean and Anderson would co-harmonize smoothly; it was not a contest to see who could outperform who!Therefore, Sharp overpowers Jone's silky and soulful vocals !Vocals by Sister Sledge seem to falter a little bit in contrast to their awesome vocal work back in the late 70's. Finally, if you are going to record a concert album with all tracks, then include all the tracks. There is another cd version of this Live At Budokan performance that includes Simon LeBon of Duran Duran fame who performs Notorious with Chic. The catch is that you have to fork over some bucks no matter who sells it because it is a Japanese only import...so, then a Chic fan has to ask him/herself if it's worth the money for this one added extra bonus track;who knows...Now the good stuff ! It's truly a magnificent historical performance unpolished by post studio electronic trickery or contrived production ; What you hear is what you get. The music is more rock-funk than outdated disco. Some of the songs are fitted with a firmer, tighter, more solid up to date edge with great guitar licks by Slash and blue eyed soulful vocals by Steve Winwood. The late Bernard Edwards and Nile Rogers proved in 96' that Chic never lost their touch. After all, this multi-talented duo produced some of the most incredible, memorable and skillfully crafted dance, r&b, funk music that will never fade or die. This is where the young and curious can get their 101 basic fundamentals in discovering where the basis of hip hop and other dance music came from. Nile Rogers and Bernard Edwards were musical survivors long after the death or "mutation" of disco. All this is evident in the writing and producing they did in the 80's for mega stars David Bowie, Madonna, Duran,Duran,...and the list goes on. One of the best albums they produced for any artist or artists were labelmates Sister Sledge's 1979 We Are Family album;that is another review for another time, though. Despite, the cons I listed in the beginning of this review it is the more solid and positive aspects of this recording that allows me to grant this recording 4 stars !!"

One of the best "live" albums that I've ever heard!

Reginald D. Garrard | Camilla, GA USA | 09/26/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Chic: Live at the Budokan" captures the verve and wizardry of the 1997 concert in Japan. Chic was more than just a "disco band"; it was an assemblage of gifted musicians, headed by Nile Rodgers and the late Bernard Edwards. The interpretations of the band's greatest hits take those songs to another level, permitting longer and jazzier extensions of these familiar chart-toppers.



Rodgers and Edwards knew the pulse of the times and produced numerous hits for themselves, as well as others. Label mates Sister Sledge, who were produced by Rodgers and Edwards, appear on "The Greatest Dancer" and the disco anthem "We Are Family". Also, Steve Winwood adds his distinctive vocals to this monumental concert.



The sound quality is excellent, allowing the listener to feel as if he/she is actually there.



Fans of the band or not will enjoy this live release that is definitely kicking!"

At their BEST!!!

Ronald Lee | Los Angeles Ca | 11/23/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Getting to the meat of the matter with Nile winning the Producer Of The Year in Japan that year and may I say a quick thinking Nile putting Chic together W/O Tony Thompson was a very smart move but, I think that it still really wasn't Chic without Tony not being part of this event. I think that Nile was very heart felt with the passing of Benard and this being his LAST performance and it being a great one at that...it was good to hear him be so positive even though his life ended the next day after that show....we do miss him!!!!
With all the guess in toe....like Slash, Steve Windwood, Simon La Bon, Sister Sledge and everyone that was a part of this great night and with all the good dance songs that made Chic so great and the musicainship....it's just unexplianible to be so dam good
If you don't have this CD then you're missing out.....not only with Nile but with how great of a group Chic really was because, in the late 70's they were a powerhouse and the writing of songs like "Dance,Dance,Dance & Le Freak" who can go wrong and all the mambers going forward in the music industry as musicians and producers. So if you have the chance to grab this CD before it goes out of print do so because, if you miss it that would be a very SAD!!!!"